New Britain’s downtown corridor has suffered since Route 72 bisected the city in the 1960s. The Beehive Bridge was designed to rectify this by bringing light, life, and reconnection to downtown. The process included multiple public input sessions, and a steering committee of local artists and business owners tasked with defining project aspirations and reviewing concepts. 

Translucent panels in shades of gold and yellow form an abstract, honeycomb-inspired visual barrier between the overpass and the highway below, producing a variety of patterns and colors that fluctuates with the position of the sun. Building on the theme, four large-format stainless-steel honeybee sculptures are integrated directly into the structure. Likewise, contemporary artwork in the form of a grand-scale beehive forms a centerpiece in a pocket park on the bridge’s north side.